BOYFRIEND | takahashi ran

34. peak hour

tw:: sexual assault, rape culture

    it has been three days since you've started working with hana. the two of you were still tense around each other but she began to bother you less, except for when you messed up.

" do it again, " hana said without a hint of emotion in her voice.

you and hana were in the kitchen. she was teaching you to prepare another dessert, an apple cobbler.

at the back of your head you have been wondering why hasn't hana taken a leave to go for volleyball practice. you thought she a valued player in the girl's team, did she not make the cut for the winter tournament? you thought that it was almost impossible.

"stop stoning, i said do it again, " hana hissed.

" actually, y/n, hana, could you help with service today, it's a friday and you know how crowded fridays are, " the manager sheepishly asked as he peaked from behind the kitchen door.

" yes sir, " hana instantly replied as she took out her apron and tossed it in a corner.

you watched as she neatened her hair and straightened her uniform as she made a beeline out the kitchen. she was always seen disobeying school rules but out here she seemed to act like a robot. the drastic change was almost frightening.

" are you coming or what? " hana asked.

" yeah, coming. "

the café was two times more crowded than it normally was. there was people of all walks of life at the café today, some of them whom you recognise for school.

you and hana were scurrying from table to table, taking down orders and giving them out. it was hectic.

and for a hectic day, hana seemed to be taking her own sweet time. she has been stuck at a table for about ten minutes now and you were losing your patience as you had to cover the rest of the café by yourself.

so much for scolding me all the time. who's the one slacking off now.

you purposefully walked close to the table hana was at while you were on the way to the kitchen to deliver an order, hoping to prompt her to hurry up.

a middle aged man in a business suit had one arm around hana's waist, while his other arm was tugging at the hem of her work uniform skirt. it seemed as if he refused to let her go.

what the fuck.

your impatience turned into pure disgust as you stormed over to the table.

" what the heck do you think you're doing? " you questioned as you yanked hana away, putting yourself between the two do them to create some distance.

" who the hell are you? " the man asked.

" who are you? and what the fuck do you think you are doing? " you shot back.

the man stood up in anger, causing the loud dragging sound the chair against the floor to reverberate across the café, attracting the attention of many.

he was basically towering over the both of you. and as much as you wanted to back off and apologise out of fear, you knew what you saw and what you saw was disturbingly wrong in every angle.

" HOW CAN A WAITRESS TALK TO HER CUSTOMERS LIKE THIS? IS THIS HOW YOU TREAT YOUR ELDERS? I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER, " the man loudly retorted, causing you to cringe.

" THEN HOW CAN A HUMAN TREAT ANOTHER HUMAN LIKE THIS? YOU FUCKING PERVERT! " you shouted back.

by this point, everyone had their attention directed at the three of you. hana was still standing behind you. she must've been extremely terrified.

" HEY, HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE TH- "

" hi, this is the manager. how can i help you, " the manager finally arrived, cutting off the man's words.

" these two filthy bitches were disrespectful towards me, shouldn't you have trained them better, manager? " the business suit man taunted.

now that you looked at it from another angle, the manager was actually pretty buffed up and a rather tall man. he was definitely younger than the business suit man despite the two of them being about the same height.

" is that true? were you being disrespectful towards our customer? " manager turned to ask you.

" i- i was only- because they were- "

" enough said, " manager cut you off as he faced the customer, " please excuse them for their behaviour. "

" EXACTLY! you should be glad that i'm not filing a complain to the ministry. "

" actually, a complain would be the last thing i would do if i were you though, weren't you the one who assaulted my employee first? shouldn't your mother have taught you better? sir? " manager calmly replied, " please leave the café. we do not tolerate such uncultured behaviours. "

" have you ever heard the saying that ' the customers are always right ' ? assault? who would believe them? " the man shot a nasty look to you and hana, " they are obviously making this shit up. "

" i might not have seen what had happened, but i'm pretty sure the cameras would have, " manager explained as he pointed to the camera overhead.

you heard a silent ' fuck ' as soon as the manager uncovered the cameras. they were hidden well behind the decor, some of which you never noticed before.

" if what you claim is true, then i will punish my employees accordingly. however if i find out that you are in the wrong, i will call the authorities and the company you work for. so, please leave the café before i do so, " the manager coldly threatened.

stunned, the man hastily picked up his belongings and left the place in a hurry.

" sorry for the huge commotion caused, everyone. please do as you were, " the manager announced to the rest of the customers as he clapped his hand once, " as for you two, i want to speak with you. stay back after work. "

" oh what the heck, " you cursed.

シ hey... things are taking a darker turn but i do want to use this platform to share things which can very much happen in real life, and it can happen to anyone.